Australian Guineas

Looking for this year’s Australian Guineas betting tips, field and form guide? The tipsters at Neds have put together everything you need to know before this year’s race.

Australian Guineas Results

The official Australian Guineas results will be available below once the race takes place on Saturday, February 28, 2026.

The autumn options have opened right up for Ciaron Maher’s very talented young stayer Observer ($1.85F) who was enormous up the inside late to post his fourth win on the trot saluting for the punters at Flemington in the 2026 Australian Guineas results. The VRC Derby champ proved too strong for his fellow three-year-olds backing up from a win fresh in the Autumn Stakes to relish the step-up to a mile off another perfectly timed ride by Ethan Brown and earn talks of a potential Group 1 Australian Cup run back at the track on March 28 against the older horses.

Australian Guineas Tips

Our exclusive Australian Guineas tips will be detailed here the week of the race and a full betting preview published on the Neds Blog.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR COMPLETE 2026 AUSTRALIAN GUINEAS DAY PREVIEW & TIPS

Run over 1,600 metres in either late February or early March each year, the the Group 1 Australian Guineas takes place during the Melbourne Autumn Racing Carnival. With a $1,000,000 prize purse, it attracts a quality line-up of three-year-old milers and is contested at set weights.

Good lead-up races into the Australian Guineas field include the CS Hayes Stakes and The Vanity. Star Queensland galloper Alligator Blood (2020) was the last horse to complete the CS Hayes Stakes – Australian Guineas double as a three-year-old.

The best three-year-olds out of the Australian Guineas may be part of the The All-Star Mile race run at various tracks around Melbourne over the same distance in March. In 2019 brilliant Tasmanian-trained filly Mystic Journey completed the Australian Guineas – The All-Star Mile double being the inaugural winner of the latter at Flemington.

As of 2024 the Australian Guineas winner is guaranteed a start in The All-Star Mile field.

In 2022 Hitotsu made history, the spring’s VRC Derby champ becoming the event’s inaugural first-up winner. He went on to frank the Australian Guineas form heading to Sydney next start to win the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m).

In 2023 the New Zealand-trained filly Legarto became the sixth filly to win the event with the 38th running marred by the race fall of two horses.

Observer (2026) became the latest horse to win the Australian Guineas as the reigning VRC Derby champion.

Australian Guineas – Quick Information

• Race Day: Saturday, February 28, 2026
• Track Location: Flemington Racecourse
• Track Surface: Turf
• Track Direction: Left-handed
• Race Distance: 1,600 metres
• Weight Conditions: Set weights
• Qualification: Three-year-olds
• Type: Thoroughbred
• Grade: Group 1
• Operator: Victoria Racing Club
• Prize Purse: $1,000,000
• Inaugural Race: 1986
• Australian Guineas Winner: Observer

Australian Guineas Betting

There are many different ways to bet on the Australian Guineas, and we have included some of the most popular options below:

Bet Type	How To Place This Type of Bet on This Year’s Australian Guineas
Win Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will take first place in this year’s Australian Guineas.
Place Bet	Place your bet on the horse you think will place in the top three finishers at this year’s Australian Guineas. Pays less than a win bet but offers safer odds.
Each-Way Bet	If your runner finishes 1st in the Australian Guineas, you will collect both the Win and the Place dividend. If your horse finishes 2nd or 3rd you will collect the Place dividend.
Quinella Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in any order, within the Australian Guineas, in order to win the Quinella.
Exacta Bet	You must select the runners that finish 1st and 2nd in the correct order, within the Australian Guineas to win the Exacta.
Trifecta Bet	You must select runners to finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the correct order, within the Australian Guineas to win the Trifecta.
First Four	You must select runners that finish 1st, 2nd ,3rd and 4th in the correct order, within the Australian Guineas to win the First 4.
Quadrella Bet (Quaddie)	You must select the winners of four nominated races to win the Quaddie. This means you would have to select three other races apart from the Australian Guineas, in order to be eligible to place a Quaddie.

How To Bet on the Australian Guineas in

1. Login at neds.com.au
2. Make sure to check out form guide, once it’s released
3. Decide what kind of bet you’re going to place (Win, Place, Each-Way, Trifecta + more betting options, please read our section on Australian Guineas Betting above).
4. Select the horse(s) for the race.

Which Horse Will Win the Australian Guineas in

The best way to pick which horse will win the Australian Guineas in is to take into account their lead-up autumn racing form, assess the barriers, consider the weight the horse will carry and look at their past records at a mile.

Additional factors to consider when picking the Australian Guineas winner include:

• Interstate Invasion: Young horses trained outside of Melbourne have a strong recent record in the Australian Guineas results with wins by the likes of Mystic Journey (Tasmania, 2019) and Alligator Blood (Queensland, 2020). In 2023 the Australian Guineas was won by visiting New Zealand filly Legarto from across the Tasman.
• Inside Alleys: Just three Australian Guineas winners in the last 30 odd years have jumped from wider than barrier 9.
• CS Hayes Lead-Up: The Group 3 CS Hayes Stakes has produced more Australian Guineas champions in the past decade than any other race.

Australian Guineas Favourites

Favourites in Australian Guineas betting at time of publish include Ciaron Maher trained VRC Derby winning colt Observer, the Chris Waller-trained CS Hayes winning Flying Artie colt Sixties looking to keep the autumn wins coming and Planet Red coming off a second fresh to Observer in the Group 2 Autumn Stakes.

From 2007 – 2026 five Australian Guineas favourites saluted for the punters.

The most recent Australian Guineas favourites to win are: Hey Doc (2017), Mystic Journey (2019), Alligator Blood (2020) and Observer ($1.85 in 2026).

In 2021 history was made with Lunar Fox ($301) becoming the longest-priced Australian Group 1 winner in history.

There was also a notable upset in 2024 with Southport Tycoon winning at Australian Guineas odds of $19, and again in 2025 with Feroce at $14.

Australian Guineas Field

The official Australian Guineas field of final acceptances is announced on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in full below.

The Australian Guineas 2026 final field features 10 top young milers including the versatile Ciaron Maher-trained VRC Derby champ Observer chasing his fourth win on the trot after a huge returning win in the Autumn Stakes.

Flemington R8

Final Race time: 

	Entrant	Last 6	Sex	Barrier	Weight
	1. Observer J: Ethan Brown T: Ciaron Maher	2311x1	C	6	57kg
	2. Planet Red J: Jamie Melham T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr	1432x2	G	9	57kg
	3. West Of Swindon J: Ben Allen T: Ciaron Maher	2194x6	C	3	57kg
	4. Sixties J: Damian Lane T: Chris Waller	515x11	C	10	57kg
	5. Bingi J: Luke Cartwright T: Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	3177x9	C	2	57kg
	6. Officiate J: Ben Melham T: Chris Waller	2130x5	C	4	57kg
	7. Romantic Encounter J: Daniel Stackhouse T: Ben, Will & Jd Hayes	120x94	C	5	57kg
	8. Victorious Spirit J: Zac Spain T: Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	231x3	G	7	57kg
	9. Onavuitton J: Thomas Stockdale T: Simon Zahra	63x14	G	8	57kg
	10. Express Class J: Patrick Moloney T: Gerard Moloney	36x967	G	1	57kg

View Results

Australian Guineas Race Day

Australian Guineas Day takes place on Saturday, February 28, 2026 at Flemington Racecourse.

The Group 1 Australian Guineas is the marquee race at the meeting, while the Restricted $1 million Inglis Sprint is the second richest race on the card. The other key support race held on Australian Guineas Day is the Group 2 $300,000 Blamey Stakes (1600m).

Australian Guineas Barrier Draw

The Australian Guineas barrier draw will be released to the public a few days before the race and will be published in our above Australian Guineas Field section.

Australian Guineas Nominations

Early Australian Guineas nominations close at 12:00 pm (AEDT) on the Monday of race week.

2026 Australian Guineas nominations extended until 10:00am (AEDT) – 24/02/2026 

The Australian Guineas 2026 nominations attracted a quality line-up of three-year-olds including the spring’s VRC Derby champ Observer coming off a win fresh in the Group 2 Autumn Stakes and Chris Waller’s in-form CS Hayes winner Sixties chasing a hat-trick.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp Rating
1	13177×9	BINGI	C	3	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	67
2	136×967	EXPRESS CLASS	G	3	Gerard Moloney	70
3	14132	LANCELOT DU LAC	C	3	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	72
4	215x2311x1	OBSERVER	C	3	Ciaron Maher	107
5	8x2130x5	OFFICIATE	C	3	Chris Waller	70
6	63×14	ONAVUITTON	G	3	Simon Zahra	68
7	1x1432x2	PLANET RED	G	3	Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr)	98
8	120×94	ROMANTIC ENCOUNTER (NZ)	C	3	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	75
9	821515×11	SIXTIES	C	3	Chris Waller	90
10	13×5	TOP REWARD	C	3	Clayton Douglas	68
11	231×3	VICTORIOUS SPIRIT	G	3	Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman	70
12	20x42194x6	WEST OF SWINDON	C	3	Ciaron Maher	84

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

Australian Guineas Weights

Set weights apply to this race. Colt and geldings run at 56.5 kg. Fillies run at 54.5 kg. The Australian Guineas weights are announced on the Monday of race week with weights on the final acceptors to be published in our above Australian Guineas Field section.

Australian Guineas Final Acceptances

Final Australian Guineas acceptances must be declared before 9:30 am (AEDT) on the Wednesday of race week and will be published in our above Australian Guineas Field section.

Australian Guineas Jockeys

The final riders must be announced by 1 pm (AEDT) on the Wednesday of race week with the official Australian Guineas jockeys to be published in our above Australian Guineas Field section.

Australian Guineas Scratchings

Australian Guineas scratchings close at 7:30 am (AEDT) on Saturday, February 28, 2026.

Australian Guineas Prize Money

The Australian Guineas prize purse is worth $1,000,000 in total, distributed from places first through to eighth.

Place	Prize Money
1st	$600,000
2nd	$180,000
3rd	$90,000
4th	$45,000
5th	$25,000
6th	$20,000
7th	$20,000
8th	$20,000

Australian Guineas Race Number

The Australian Guineas race number is scheduled as Flemington Race 8 at 4:20pm (AEDT) on Saturday, February 28, 2026. There are ten races in total that day at Flemington Racecourse.

Australian Guineas Form Guide

The final form guide will be available the week of the race. You can check below for a link to our full  Australian Guineas Form Guide following final acceptances.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2026 AUSTRALIAN GUINEAS FORM GUIDE

Australian Guineas Live

You can watch or listen to the Australian Guineas live, across the following mediums.

Pay television: Sky Racing 1 (channel 526 on Foxtel)

Free to air television: Channels 78 (and 68 in regional areas)

Radio: Radio Sport National

Streaming: Racing.com

Mobile: Neds App

Australian Guineas Winners

Winners of the Australian Guineas going back to the year 2000 are displayed in the table below. you can find a full list of winners, going back to 1986, on our Australian Guineas winners’ page.

Year	Winner	Trainer/s	Jockey	Weight	Time
2026	Observer	Ciaron Maher	Ethan Brown	57 kg	1:35.70
2025	Feroce	Dominic Sutton	Ethan Brown	57 kg	1:35.46
2024	Southport Tycoon	Ciaron Maher	Jamie Kah	57 kg	1:35.48
2023	Legarto	Ken & Bev Kelso	Michael Dee	55 kg	1:36.34
2022	Hitotsu	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	57 kg	1:36.88
2021	Lunar Fox	Paul Preusker	Michael Dee	57 kg	1:35.86
2020	Alligator Blood	David Vandyke	Ryan Maloney	56.5kg	1:34.92
2019	Mystic Journey	Adam Trinder	Anthony Darmanin	54.5 kg	1:35.79
2018	Grunt	Mick Price	Damien Oliver	56.5kg	1:34.99
2017	Hey Doc	Tony McEvoy	Luke Currie	56.5kg	1:34.01
2016	Palentino	Darren Weir	Mark Zahra	56.5kg	1:35.28
2015	Wandjina	Gai Waterhouse	Brett Prebble	56.5kg	1:35.14
2014	Shamus Award	Danny O’Brien	Craig Williams	56.5kg	1:36.41
2013	Ferlax	Jim Conlan	Stephen Baster	56.5kg	1:35.09
2012	Mosheen	Robert Smerdon	Danny Nikolic	54.5kg	1:37.06
2011	Shamrocker	Danny O’Brien	Glen Boss	53.5kg	1:35.33
2010	Rock Classic	Bart Cummings	Michael Rodd	55.5kg	1:36.80
2009	Heart Of Dreams	Mick Price	Craig Newitt	55.5kg	1:35.88
2008	Light Fantastic	Mick Price	Craig Newitt	55.5kg	1:36.41
2007	Miss Finland	David Hayes	Craig Williams	53kg	1:36.09
2006	Apache Cat	Greg Eurell	Noel Callow	55.5kg	1:34.00
2005	Al Maher	Gai Waterhouse	Noel Callow	55.5kg	1:34.45
2004	Reset	Graeme Rogerson	Danny Nikolic	55.5kg	1:34.57
2003	Delago Brom	Tommy Hughes (Snr)	Patrick Payne	55.5kg	1:35.93
2002	Dash For Cash	Rick Hore-Lacy	Scott Seamer	55.5kg	1:35.39
2001	Mr. Murphy	Lee Freedman	Damien Oliver	55.5kg	1:34.43
2000	Pins	Clarry Conners	Shane Dye	55.5kg	2:02.31